Database Develop

Theme Porter v1.3...now supports CM4.1.5+

CHANGELOG
v1.1 - Added "Ultra" compression switch. Added a few more commands.
v1.2 -Now includes batch file that signs the theme also. So if you need to add anything else to the theme, like an xml file, add it to themenew.zip BEFORE you run the batch file. I also included a batch file that change the Ticker, Date and Clock font colors to white, then signs it. Of course, you can make it change it to any color, you just need to edit the batch.
v1.3 - Now compatible with CM 4.1.5+ themes.
http://www.mediafire.com/?gmjbnzted5m
Then follow these steps...
Download and extract "themeporter.zip" to C:\themeporter(IMPORTANT that it's extracted there).
1) Copy old theme to c:\themeporter and rename it to "themeold.zip".
2) Copy new theme template to c:\themeporter and rename it to "themenew.zip".
3) Run Port.bat
note: If you want to see for yourself that this works, don't copy and paste "themenew.zip" into the themeporter directory. This batch will automatically create one if there isn't one there. You will then be able to see exactly which files are being ported over.
BIG NOTE: This only ports over.png's. You will still have to manually copy over and xml's, jar's or whatever over to "themenew.zip".

WOW
Man if this works.... WOW!!

The other issue is any modified xml's for color changes...

daveid said:
The other issue is any modified xml's for color changes...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea, this will only be used just for png's.

Is this geared toward theme creators or users? If creators you could modify it so that if they store only modified files in a tiered folder structure it could just dump them into the new template.
If end users then you will be limited on your current track since you have to unpack/repack with entire files instead of it being selective.

Take a look into the bash scripts available here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=530081
Port the bash > batch, and you'll have a very nice theme porting experience in the windows environment.
I've been using it for the past month, and it's a champ.

cant wait to see this finished. with 6 themes to update this will be helpful!!!

sir*mez said:
cant wait to see this finished. with 6 themes to update this will be helpful!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So far so good...it's maybe about 60% complete. Hopefully I'll have something whipped up by tomorrow.

ThemePorter v1.0 is up. Check it out!

Looks good. So now all that is needed is the manual updates for HTC Music, XML edits and colorchanger.
Nice timesaver!
Thanks

SICK!!!!! I love this man with this and colorchanger.jar porting is a breeze for cyanogen builds thanks a million!!

Tried porting over Kspec Oreo Theme to Cyanogen 3.9.4
Kept getting a E:\Wrong Digest error with Phone.apk
I tried resigning it and same error
Beats me

xidominicanoix said:
Tried porting over Kspec Oreo Theme to Cyanogen 3.9.4
Kept getting a E:\Wrong Digest error with Phone.apk
I tried resigning it and same error
Beats me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you have the bat running in C:\themeporter\? Worked for me with Cyan's 3.9.4
Btw ultra Spikey, I have noooo idea why this thread is not insanely bigger cuz this thing is freakin awesome and helps a ish ton for me. Thats why it went unnoticed by me until now. Thanks man! : D

well i did a test that i was thinking about last night. Is it possible to port a theme over to a new CM before the new rom finishes flashing and booting up? the answer............ YES!!! i started the download for the rom and theme template at the same time and with this and colorChange.jar by Oshaka i was able to port my theme before my phone had fully booted up the rom. Also it only took 2 minutes to download the rom so that didn't affect timing too much. Great job ultra spikey, this is amazing

RainCrow said:
Did you have the bat running in C:\themeporter\? Worked for me with Cyan's 3.9.4
Btw ultra Spikey, I have noooo idea why this thread is not insanely bigger cuz this thing is freakin awesome and helps a ish ton for me. Thats why it went unnoticed by me until now. Thanks man! : D
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup had it in the right place and everything .. it zipped everything up into "themenew.zip" but just hit that error when trying to flash it
EDIT: just tried it again ... didnt get the error!! lol ... i had to resign the update.zip (duh) ... rebooting now

Just FYI, for some reason (on my Linux box), when rezipping the files, it does not keep the same letter case.
Phone.apk becomes
phone.apk
This caused some problems...but all I had to do was go in an manually rename. Other than that - awesome work!
EDIT: Actually, just realized that the battery progress icon does not work at all. When I manually change the files - it is fine. But when I run your tool - it is not. My guess is the case-sensitive thing.

erissiva said:
Just FYI, for some reason (on my Linux box), when rezipping the files, it does not keep the same letter case.
Phone.apk becomes
phone.apk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good catch eriss. I just noticed that as well and came in here to post that I am seeing the same issue.

hmm I didnt realize it was case sensitive. It's not on any of my themes at least. I will fix and to match later today.

I fixed the case-sensitive issue in 1.2.

ultra spikey said:
I fixed the case-sensitive issue in 1.2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are looking for increased ease you might think about rolling into/incorporating the color changer jar. : )
I have my updating/porting down to about 3 commands:
Code:
490 wget http://n0rp.chemlab.org/android/experimental/template-cm-3.9.6-signed.zip
491 unzip template-cm-3.9.6-signed.zip -d ./theme.new/
492 ./update.theme theme.aero/ theme.new/
493 ./create.new theme.new/
I've incorporated the colorChanger.jar into my own script, and it has dramatically reduced the time/effort in making updates/ports...

[Themed ROM] Blue_Haze-Eclair_2.1-v1.7 [Light OR Dark] Updated 04/02/10

Done. See you all later

Community Add-Ons
Scripts to back up and restore your home screen (and icons, etc)
Backup
Restore
Instructions: 1. Run launcherb.sh, 2. Flash ROM, 3. Open all apps, 4. Run launcherr.sh.
Note: To run the script example.sh, in the terminal enter
Code:
su
sh <path_to_script>/example.sh
Droid Font Metamorph (From MinusSTL)
Droid Font

Nice to see a lighter colored theme, I like it a lot. Hope you feel better and make sure to say everything on your mind.

tried to flash this... but its not signed?

hks18psigst said:
tried to flash this... but its not signed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
its a metamorph theme.

kk i see now...

I plan on offering an update.zip version which can be flashed, but I first need to spend 15 minuites and learn how to sign on Ubuntu.

good lookin' theme! thx for the hard work!
mind looking into adding Stericson's Lockscreen?
THX!

vlcmstnsrfr said:
good lookin' theme! thx for the hard work!
mind looking into adding Stericson's Lockscreen?
THX!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can make a version for the lockscreen, but it may have to wait until after Christmas (probably not though). Do you want regular, or eclair style?

installing theme but has been stuck on appliying framework-res.apk now for 15 or 20mins

tha realest24 said:
installing theme but has been stuck on appliying framework-res.apk now for 15 or 20mins
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is a known issue some people are having with metamorph, check out this thread for solutions:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=591329

The issue with my black bar mod theme control file has been fixed.

cloverdale said:
I can make a version for the lockscreen, but it may have to wait until after Christmas (probably not though). Do you want regular, or eclair style?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll go with whatever the masses want, but if it was up to me, then ECLAIR style plz! thx!

vlcmstnsrfr said:
I'll go with whatever the masses want, but if it was up to me, then ECLAIR style plz! thx!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds good, unless I hear an overwhelming response for the regular screen, I will have this up soon. For now, I will be uploading a black-bar version of the lockscreen that will work with this theme (Flash the lockscreen then the theme).

Here is a black-bar version of the lockscreen, but has not been tested. If anyone wants to give it a shot (everything should work fine, at worst case the colors will not be quite right) and report back I would appreciate it.
http://www.4shared.com/file/180774324/721ccdb/stericson-lockscreen-CY4210-bl.html

Hello! Firstly I would like to say great theme! But I have been experiencing problems with Metamorph.
After downloading Version 2.1.1, I opened Metamorph, and did the pick theme, and found the file and metamorph was in the process of unzipping when it said that the theme control file could not be read may be missing. I tired downloading 2.1.1 again and replaced the file but that didn't seem to work..Maybe I am making a noob mistake, as I'm not that familiar with Metamorph.

Envisage said:
Hello! Firstly I would like to say great theme! But I have been experiencing problems with Metamorph.
After downloading Version 2.1.1, I opened Metamorph, and did the pick theme, and found the file and metamorph was in the process of unzipping when it said that the theme control file could not be read may be missing. I tired downloading 2.1.1 again and replaced the file but that didn't seem to work..Maybe I am making a noob mistake, as I'm not that familiar with Metamorph.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It has to do with certain download managers changing my file name. I will upload a fixed version.

New version is uploaded, theme control issues are fixed, and will not be a problem again.

cloverdale said:
Here is a black-bar version of the lockscreen, but has not been tested. If anyone wants to give it a shot (everything should work fine, at worst case the colors will not be quite right) and report back I would appreciate it.
http://www.4shared.com/file/180774324/721ccdb/stericson-lockscreen-CY4210-bl.html
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Works like a charm! thanks again and happy holidays!

does anyone know if i can apply only the "Black Notification Bar Only" zip without installing metamorph?

[REQ] I would like these back. HELP PLEASE!

For some ludicrous reason, I cannot apply themes nor modify the framework-res myself anymore. Everytime I try, I get a bootloop or a flood of FC's
I removed /audio from RC2 along with a few other things so it shouldn't be a space issue.
Just wondering if anyone wants to take the time to make a flashable.zip or metamorph that would bring the black scroll bar back.
And if all possible, I would like my status bar icons back as well. Who ever is interested, you can get all the .png's here,
Meclairo-Images.zip
I will be very grateful to the first person to get this done!
2 rules,
1. Use the icons in the .zip on this post
2. DON'T RELEASE IT UNTIL YOU HAVE TESTED IT ON YOUR DEVICE AND IT DOESN'T FAIL OR YOU DID SOMETHING BESIDES APPLY OR FLASH!
(no one wants to fix_permissions for a theme...)
I want a screen shot from DDMS.BAT in your post along with the .ZIP or METAMORPH download link
Happy theeming and may the android gods be with you!
EDIT 9:56pm
Steve_t from forum.cyanogenmod.com hooked me up so disregard this post, I guess...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you to all who tried anyway!

One Click Theme Injector (Updated 11/15) With HDPI to MDPI resizing!! RE-READ THE OP

READ THIS FIRST:
The original post is here alot of questions have been answered, here browse around there first.
UPDATE 9 PATCH TWEAKS:
This new version will port your favorite hdpi theme to an mdpi rom... yes 9 patch resizing. I want to be the first to say this is not 100% and it probably never will be, and over the next couple of days we can discuss this.
What it will do is resize every 9 patch in a rom and move it over to the mdpi theme. Yes this is the same method I used for all my hdpi ports.
What it might not get is the 9 patching data correctly, which means that it might get stretched incorrectly, most times you won't noticed but others it will be obvious. This will happen anywhere from 1% to 30% of the 9 patch pngs in a port, but all you will need to do is redraw them using the 9 patch draw tool in the adb folder.
My next version will have this included along with some instructions, along with font and boot animation porting.
Please respect other peoples work. If you port a theme using this and repost it don't just link back to the op... mention the author and give them props.
Also want to say I spent a looooong time trying to figure this out, and I tried many different ways, and I'm open to others suggestion on making this better
Oh and don't forget to to install Image Magick, its included and the HDPI to MDPI will not work without this.
This tool will take your favorite theme and inject it into your favorite rom... provided they are compatible with each other (might work if they aren't but thats for later). I did this cause alot of themers and people who like themes are always waiting for the nightly theme to get applied, well this will do it for you.
You can think of this as almost a theme installer.
INSTRUCTIONS by Norm12:
1. Download and extract.
1.5 Install image magick from the image magick folder... just run the installer and its ready to go. This is important the hdpi to mdpi will not work without it.
2. Copy both the theme and rom into the 1 click folder---the extracted one.
3. Open the 1-click folder and you should see your theme, rom, lib folder, and the injector script.
4. Doubleclick on the injector script----if you did everything correct it will open a cmd prompt
5. Enter the names of the rom and theme when asked...I did use the exact names and added ".zip" to the end.
5.5 Answer y if this is an hdpi to mdpi port otherwise n.
6. Hit enter and wait. When it is really done it will auto-close the cmd prompt. This may take 15 minutes.
7. Your newly themed rom will be in the same folder as the unthemed rom and theme zips. If it worked it should be slightly larger than the original rom. Enjoy
!!!IMPORTANT... BECAUSE 7ZIP SHOWS OUTPUT IGNORE THE "EVERYTHING IS OK" LET THE SCRIPT FINISH WHEN ITS DONE IT WILL CLOSE ITSELF IF YOU DOUBLE CLICKED IT OR IT WILL RETURN TO COMMAND PROMPT!!!
Ignore any errors your seeing while it runs, this is normal like before let it run completely through till it closes out.
Run time could be up too 20 minutes (60 with HDPI to MDPI) on a big theme/rom, but faster that waiting!
You must now install Image Magick if you would like to use the hdpi to mdpi resizing!
ISSUES:
There also seems to be an issue with the gallery3d.apk and the differences in the mdpi and hdpi version. For now remove this from the theme your porting otherwise it won't come out right.
Update 4:
HDPI to MDPI porting!!!!!
Update 3:
Removed verbose but added optopng verbose just let it run. It works but you have to let it finish, the cmd window will close it self.
Update 2:
Added verbose output so that you guys will know to close it out before its done...even tho 7zip says everything is ok... just let it do its thing.
Update 1:
Had the optimization stuff commented out... sorry its back on.
Script will clean up now after it finishes.
JAVA CLASSPATH:
Its needed for the signer to work properly goto a command prompt and type in java -version. if you get and error back java is not in your classpath and needs to be.
just right click on my computer, then goto properties, then click on the advanced tab, at the bottom click on the "Environment Variable" button.
Now click on the new button... the one on the bottom for system variable and put in this
variable name: JAVA_HOME
variable value: C:\<path-to-where-java-is>
Now click ok and select the path system variable and then click edit. IMPORTANT only append to the end of the value this... ;%JAVA_HOME%\bin
then click ok and ok out of all those windows and open a new command prompt and type java -version you should get no error if you do your path to java was wrong follow the steps above again and make sure the path is correct.
WHAT THIS WON'T DO:
It won't port over xml or smali edits.
It wont port over what it can't find... so if your theme has a facebook widget or something but the rom does not then it will ignore that.
It will not port over fonts or anything other than the framework-res.apk and all the themes apks in the system/app folder. If this is popular Maybe other stuff can get included.
WHAT THIS WILL DO:
Shrink a 9 patch from HDPI size to MDPI size.
Push over all the themes pngs from the apk with it to the roms matching apk.
Optimize every png in the theme you are porting over.
Zip align all the apks in your newly themed rom.
Sign the newly themed rom.
Give me feed back.
I might make this easier and make the injector steal the apks for injection right from your phone and then inject and make a flashable to put right back on... tell me what you think.
New HDPI to MDPI version with 9 patch porting download

reserved 10char..

Nice work
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App

TheRedDrake said:
Nice work
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you. hasn't caught on in this forum yet i guess.

I'll try this out now, this seems easier than the theme porter that's already on the forum.

Looks promising! I will try it out right now!

dl and try after work

will this work for porting themes to the HTC Tattoo?? does it rescale the theme to suite the phone?

vura said:
will this work for porting themes to the HTC Tattoo?? does it rescale the theme to suite the phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This will port any theme to any rom... provided they are compatible. So while you can go from a sense theme and inject it into a AOSP rom, it probably won't catch everything since it works off of matches. It also does not have any scaling included.
The biggest thing with this is that the theme and rom have to have a same file structure so all rom come and the have the system/app folder and the system/framework/framework-res.apk, this is what the injector looks for. So honestly you could build a theme from a buncha different apks from other themes it will inject that into your rom and give you back a flashable zip. So a good theme structure example would be Gommarah's Black Mod in the HERO CDMA forum.
I do however have a way to port HDPI theme to and MDPI ROM but its not 100%... if I get enough request I'll put it in its just the process I use to accomplish this is very complicated and requires some extra software, its also adds a significant overhead to the script run time (and 3x longer to run) It works in the since the it will shrink the HDPI 9patch png but the 9 patch data is wrong about 10-20% of the time. This won't cause the roms to force close but will just make some of the 9patch pngs to stretch wrong and would require a simple edit in the 9patch draw to fix it.

+1 for hdpi to mdpi scaling!

Any others want the hdpi to mdpi scaling? I've considered releasing it.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

Just curious if I did this right as I am still fairly new to this whole scene and this whole process seemed to work way to easy. But basically I got both the rom and theme converted and then signed both zips. Does that mean that I can now successfully flash the new theme? Thanks in advance!

theu2621 said:
Just curious if I did this right as I am still fairly new to this whole scene and this whole process seemed to work way to easy. But basically I got both the rom and theme converted and then signed both zips. Does that mean that I can now successfully flash the new theme? Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no need to sign anything, the injector will sign the final output zip. Take your theme zip and your rom zip and place it in the folder next to the script. Then just run the script when its finished you will get a a new zip called themed-<roms-name>.zip.... this is ready to flash (optoed, align and signed).

ASimmons said:
Any others want the hdpi to mdpi scaling? I've considered releasing it.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can I vote multiple times?

Ill try and get it ready for this weekend and see what you think.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

First of all,great software worked as a charm...
I subscribe to the resizing,all the best themes are for HDPI...would make this the best theming tool out there for android

thanks that did it!

what if the rom needs has a seperate gapps.zip with it? thanks!

theu2621 said:
what if the rom needs has a seperate gapps.zip with it? thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just put the gapps system/app files into your ROM's system/app files. Then inject your theme, the tool does the rest

thanks again for the help! yall really helped, and rather quickly too!

[GUIDE] For Theme Chooser Themes For Beginners

Hello XDA,
I've gotten a request to make a guide about theming. I am not going to make this an expert guide because there are many other guides out there that might suit others better. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=916814 <- That is a good resource for theming.
Anyways, I want to share how I themed my theme. I made a theme that was to be used with the Theme Chooser found in many roms.
Since I was new to theming, I decided that I was going to use another theme that worked with my xoom as a base for my theme. So for me, I downloaded jasonevil's Xperia S theme. It came in the form of an apk, as most theme chooser themes do.
So if you plan to do what I did and base your theme off of someone else's theme, here's what you do: Please read through the entire post first.
Before you begin, familiarize yourself with .png files and .9 files too. Also, prepare yourself for fustration. You may also want to print this out, unless you are using a multi-monitor setup.
------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTE: Throughout this guide, you should take regular backups. You can find "backups" under the "Extas" tab in VTS. Don't do that now, because you probably don't have VTS yet.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Download a theme that you would like to use as your base. It should be made for the Theme Engine and should come in an apk. And it might be nice to work with a theme that works with your device.The theme should also theme everything (or more) of what you want to theme.
2. If you find the theme on a forum, remember to thank the author of the theme.
3. Ask the themer, preferably through a PM, for permission to use ANY part of their work in your theme, if you plan to distribute your theme to the public.
4. Make sure you have the Android SDK setup and ready to go. It should be in your path and ready for use.
5. Download a software called "Virtuous Ten Studio". We'll call it VTS. VTS is an amazing piece of software that makes theming and modifications very easy, and it comes with many tools that make it a must have. It's not required, but you might want to familiarize yourself with the software on the website.
6. Take a breath, you are in for a ride!
7. Open up VTS
8. Hit File>New Project
9. Give your new project a name. Make the project name something like template or the name of the theme you are theming. Don't worry, the name you give here will not be the name of your theme, infact, this isn't your theme at all. We are just going to keep this as a reference, you may not even use it at all.
10. Give your new solution name . Make the name of the solution something that you can understand, the name of your solution will not affect the theme directly. Think of the solution as your desk. It holds everything that is related to your final goal: the finished theme. This should probably be reflective of the theme you are going to make.
11. DON'T hit OK yet. OK? Before you do that, In the Create new project window, go to the second tab that says "Apk-Tool".
12. Make sure that "Generate Java Sources" is checked on. I don't really know why I have it checked off, but things worked when it was on.
13. Where it says "File:", navigate to where you have downloaded your template apk.
14. You have been patient enough, you can finally click the ok button!
15. On the left of the screen in VTS, you should see a structured layout of your solution and theme. On the top of that structure, you should see your solution name. Right click on that solution name and click add project.
16. Oh no! Not another screen like before! Not to worry, unless you are combining themes, this should be the last time you see this screen. In the dialog, where it asks for a project name, put a name that resembles your final theme, perhaps the name of your theme.
17. Repeat steps 11-14
18. Take a second to breathe, you'll need it!
19. Now take a look at the final theme project at the left. That project is exactly the same as the other one (template theme) in your solution. Right-Click on the final theme project's name and hit "Properties".
20. You'll see a window with a bunch of stuff, but the only thing you should change is the "APK-Name". In that field, delete everything that is already there and type the name of the final product. This is the name of the file that people will download from wherever. It doesn't have to be the name of the theme itself, but make it fairly short and descriptive. At the end of the name, put ".apk" at the end. It's better to not put any punctuation and spaces in that field. If you want to put spaces in between words, try a "-" or an underscore "_" instead. Click OK when done.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From now on, "your project" referrs to the final project. The other project that you named after the template theme is there in case you want some inspiration. And "your theme" referrs to essentially the same thing. The "original theme" referrs to the theme you are basing your theme off of.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now lets understand what makes up our theme chooser theme:
Under your final project, you should see a file called "AndroidManifest.xml". This is an important file because this is how the Android system sees your final apk, sees it as a theme, and knows what to do with the theme. RIght now, the AndroidManifest tells the Android system that your theme is exactly the same theme as the one you are using as a base. You need to change that. BE REALLY CAREFUL when changing things in the AndroidManifest, as it can render the entire project useless if something is done improperly.
"res" is a folder where all of your theme's resources are stored. When I say resources, I mean all the images that you are using that make up your theme. The folder also has other .xml files that make up your theme. The xml files stored in the "values" folder are core components to your theme. The xml files in the "xml" folder are bits that are specific to certain apps.
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21. If you are using someone else's theme as the base of your theme, it is imperitive you give them credit. I did that in my AndroidManifest. In the AndroidManifest.xml file, after "</manifest>" at the vert end, hit enter a couple times and then start the line with "<!--" This is important as "<!--" to the Android system means that the text that follows is not code, and is human language. Therefore it will skip it. With that, you should give credit to the work of the themer whose work you base yours off of. At the end of your note, put "-->". That closes off the comment.
22. In the AndroidManifest.xml you should see the word "package" in red. Next to that, you will see an "=" and a pair of quotation marks. Inside those quotation marks, change what ever is there to "com.[whatever]", What you put in there must be unique, as you want to make sure no other project, theme, or application in the world has that name. For me, I had package="com.yosterwp.theme.honeycombICS". I decided to put my username and the name of my theme in the name of the package. You may wish to put your username and theme name in, but anything else can work too. Don't put the theme in someone else's name.
23. In the rest of the AndroidManifest, you will see the name of theme you are basing your theme off of in multiple places. Replace those names with the name of the theme you are making. This is important because this is the name of your theme.
24. If the original theme has a wallaper, but you do not want a wallpaper to be bundled with your theme, delete "pluto:wallpaperImage=[whatever is here]". Do not delete anything else or anything else that begins with "pluto".
25. Press CTRL+S to save the file.
26. Now, in your project, expand the "res" folder. Then expand the "values" folder under it. If you see a file called "public.xml". Here's the scoop: public.xml is a file that tells theme chooser what your theme will theme, and where it is. This is a file generated by VTS (for the tech-savvy, apktool does that). The file gets generated by the smali code that comes out of the decompiled apk. But that is not important. What is important is removing that file. To get rid of it, you should right-click on the folder and click "open in explorer". This will open up an oh-so-familiar explorer window, Here you can just select "public.xml" and simply delete it like you would any other file. When you are done, close the explorer window.
27. Now you want to refresh VTS. To do that simply press File and then click on the name of your solution.
28. Yay! Everything has loaded! You have just scratched the surface of the surface in theming. I advise you take a break for 5 minutes. Drink some beverage. Look outside, smell the fresh air. Look away from your computer screen to give your eyes a break. Trust me, things go wrong when you are not relaxed.
29. Now that you changed some of the AndroidManifest, you need to change some other things too. Go to your project, look for res>values>strings.xml. Once you find strings.xml, change every occurence of the original theme's name to the name of your theme.
30. In the same strings.xml, replace the name of the author who made the original theme with your name. And also change the copyright to what you want too.
31. Press CTRL+S to save the file.
32. Now, look for res>values>styles.xml. At around the 3rd line, you should see something like "<style name="blahblah". Change "blahblah" to the name of your theme.
33. From there, you can replace files and change values in some of the various xml files. Except for the files in the smali and values folders, you can remove, modify and/or replace files in any folder. Don't touch the AndroidManifest. Only modify it if you want to change the version of your theme. If you are replacing files, make sure that the new file has the same name as the old file. And make sure it is of the same type too. You can change as many files as you want at a time when you are theming, but as soon as you return to VTS, reload your project. You can do that by clicking File and then your solution.
34. Once you have done all the modifications that you have wanted to do, it's time to get all that stuff in VTS into one apk again. Reload your project in VTS and then click "Build All". If you do not want the original theme to build, by now you can either delete it, or right-click on your theme and click "Build Project".
TIP: Before building a project, it is a good idea to clear the logs, so you can read it later to see any errors. Go to View>Clear Logs.
35. If you encounter errors while building, you can assume something went wrong. If you want to know what went wrong, go to Extras>Logs. There you can see everything that VTS throws at you. It may seem like a foreign language, but if you read it, it will start making sense, and you will know what to do pretty soon.
36. If all goes well and you get "Build Successful!" CONGRATULATIONS! You have made your first theme! If you have adb set up and you have your phone/tablet connected to your computer, then you can use the built in "Push to device" option in VTS, that automatically installs your theme on your device.
37. Finally, if you have permission to distribute your theme from the developer of the original theme, make a thread on XDA (put it in an appropriate place), and upload your theme! Put some screenshots in there too.
38. GIVE CREDIT TO THE DEVELOPER OF THE ORIGINAL THEME ON YOUR THREAD.
It isn't the most professional guide out there, but I hope this guide helps people get into the world of theming. If this guide helped you, say thanks through the button!
Please don't quote the entire OP.

Virtuous Ten Studio Link: http://www.virtuousrom.com/p/ten-studio.html
A list of themes to go to try: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1673456

Tips
I guess I'll dedicate this post to tips.

Amazing! Thnx a ton!

Thanks a lot for this guide. It is very easy to follow and a great place to start if you have never themed before. VTS is awesome too.
I ran into one issue though. I followed the outlined steps thoroughly, and made just minor changes as a test to make sure everything worked. The apk installed fine, and I see the theme in theme chooser. When I apply it, I get the infamous "this theme was improperly compiled. please contact the themes author" error message. Looked all over for a fix before posting here, but have had no luck. I tried applying stock theme and rebooting but it did not help. I installed the original/base theme and it worked fine... Anybody have any ideas?

alexcolodner said:
Thanks a lot for this guide. It is very easy to follow and a great place to start if you have never themed before. VTS is awesome too.
I ran into one issue though. I followed the outlined steps thoroughly, and made just minor changes as a test to make sure everything worked. The apk installed fine, and I see the theme in theme chooser. When I apply it, I get the infamous "this theme was improperly compiled. please contact the themes author" error message. Looked all over for a fix before posting here, but have had no luck. I tried applying stock theme and rebooting but it did not help. I installed the original/base theme and it worked fine... Anybody have any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
apply the stock theme reboot then apply your theme

daman215 said:
apply the stock theme reboot then apply your theme
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, but as I said I tried that and it did not work in this case.

alexcolodner said:
Thanks, but as I said I tried that and it did not work in this case.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have noticed that the folder where some pngs are stored makes a big difference. For example, if you want images that are made for mdpi tablets only, then you would place those images in res/drawable-sw600dp-mdpi.
But I noticed that if you keep the theme icon in that folder, theme chooser will throw a "theme not compiled correctly" error.
Perhaps you have an image where an image shouldn't be...
Hope that helps

DId this guide work for anyone? Please let me know if there is any issue.
Thanks!

hi yosterwp, thanks for the tutorial.
Just to notice you that there is a CM theme template already by Ricardo Cerqueira here
https://plus.google.com/115049428938715274412/posts/Epq3Xt83Bpd

pier10 said:
hi yosterwp, thanks for the tutorial.
Just to notice you that there is a CM theme template already by Ricardo Cerqueira here
https://plus.google.com/115049428938715274412/posts/Epq3Xt83Bpd
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the heads up! I made this tutorial to help people who are interested in theming for the first time, dip their toes into the sea of theming.
Once a person is comfortable with theming, I'd definitely recommend using Ricardo Cerqueira's template to make even better themes, without using another user's theme.

pier10 said:
hi yosterwp, thanks for the tutorial.
Just to notice you that there is a CM theme template already by Ricardo Cerqueira here
https://plus.google.com/115049428938715274412/posts/Epq3Xt83Bpd
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yosterwp said:
Thanks for the heads up! I made this tutorial to help people who are interested in theming for the first time, dip their toes into the sea of theming.
Once a person is comfortable with theming, I'd definitely recommend using Ricardo Cerqueira's template to make even better themes, without using another user's theme.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The template provided by Ricardo requires linux. Can someone please guide me on how to use that template and build it? I'm still learning.

muzicfreako said:
The template provided by Ricardo requires linux. Can someone please guide me on how to use that template and build it? I'm still learning.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, for starters, you'll need linux on your computer. I personally use Ubuntu Linux on a separate partition on my computer. But I know many people who prefer to use Linux in a virtual machine. It is just a difference of whether you want to boot Linux without booting Windows first or not. Anyways, I'd recommend Ubuntu because of its easy installer for this purpose. But . you can chooser any distribution of Linux you like, because they will all compile the theme in the same manner.
Once you have Linux ready, you'll need to grab the android sdk, and ant. There are guides out there that can explain waaay better than I can.
From there, you'd extract the theme, change some files, then you would use ant and build the file using it. Some amount of instructions are in the readme and in some of the xmls. Or, you could build the template immediately, and use my guide on modifying it in VTS. The effect should be the same.
These aren't great instructions for R.C.'s theme, I know. But I hope it points you somewhat in the right direction.